Sleeping Demons and Crying Angels
by Mystrana
Summary: 16yearold Ryou Bakura is just a normal person. So when he starts having horrible nightmares and waking up in pain, what does it mean? Ryou might be dead, but does that mean he's gone? Chapter Five Up! RR, Please!
1. Part 1 Prelude

Summary: Ryou Bakura is a normal 16 year old boy. He's friends with Yugi Motou, Joey Wheeler, Tristan, and Tea Gardner, and lives to duel, just like Yugi (whose grandfather owns a game shop) and Joey. One night, he starts having the weirdest dreams about someone beating someone else up, and he wakes up in pain. Before long, will reality start to slip from his grasp, or is he just imagining things?  
  
Notes: This is not AU, but it is TWT. Which means that even though the people and the place and the cards are still mostly the same, it doesn't follow the same storyline as the episodes. Also, there all of the Yami's in there eventually, but no one knows about them yet.  
  
Warnings: Can be a bit . . . I dunno, but it's not humor. Please read and review. I will be eternally happy.  
  
  
  
Sleeping Demons and Crying Angels - Prelude  
  
  
  
'Why are my fingers so cold?' he wondered, the thought getting jumbled into his confused mind. 'I can't feel them . . . at all . . .' He slowly turned over onto his back and forced his hands in front of his face. The tips were blue from cold. 'It's so cold . . . why am I here?' He rolled back over again, using all of his waning strength to do so.  
  
'Who torments me so . . .?'  
  
He used his very last bit of energy to curl up into a ball and close his eyes, hoping, if anything, he would fall asleep and never wake up.  
  
-=-=-=-=-=-  
  
Waking with a start, 16 year old Ryou Bakura blinked. He had been having the strangest dream, and it was about some guy who looked incredibly evil beating up someone else. 'Not the best way to start a day,' he thought to himself, sleeping wiping at his eyes to wake up faster. He sat up and looked around the room.  
  
'Why am I so worried?' he thought, and he got out of his bed, heading to the bathroom to take a shower. He was the only one in the house; what with his father on vacation. 'It was only a dream. I think I need to get more sleep if stuff like that is starting to scare me.'  
  
He sighed and pulled off his nightshirt, and was about to turn on the water when he noticed that his fingers were all bruised and red. 'Did I fall asleep on them?' Ryou shook his hand a little. Now that he was fully awake, he could tell that they hurt, and they hurt a lot. 'I can't imagine what I did to them . . . I wonder if I sleepwalk.'  
  
Deciding to deal with it later, Ryou turned the water on in the shower, making it nice and warm, and stepped in. He made sure to clean his hands very thoroughly, but regardless of the fact that it looked like there was blood caked between them, he had not even one cut. By the time he had stepped out of the shower, however, they felt a lot better, and they weren't as red anymore. However, the bruises were a bit more defined; you could see some purple, some black, even some green.  
  
Shrugging into a sweater, Ryou hoped that no one in school would notice the bruises. It wouldn't be a very good answer to say 'I don't know,' but the true was, he didn't know.  
  
-=-=-=-=-=-  
  
"Hey, Ryou, wait up!"  
  
Ryou heard the call and turned around to see his friends Yugi and Joey coming up behind him. They were jogging slightly to catch up to him, so he walked toward them. "Hey guys," he said.  
  
"Geez, are ya deaf or something?" Joey asked, "We only called your name about fifty times."  
  
"Oh, sorry," Ryou said, "I was just thinking about something. Hey, where are Anzu and Triston?"  
  
Yugi grinned a little. "They didn't sleep in and they caught the bus."  
  
"Hey, I could have sworn I set my alarm," Joey said, holding up his hands. "6:30, just like ya asked me to!"  
  
Ryou laughed. "Well, let's not be late then," he said, and the three of them walked quickly to Domino High School. It was a fairly decent day out, and none of them wanted detentions anyway.  
  
'I'm so glad they didn't notice how bruised my fingers are. I should really think of an excuse . . .' Ryou thought to himself while Yugi and Joey talked about going duel after school maybe.  
  
"So you wanna come with?" Joey asked, startling Ryou out of his thoughts once again.  
  
"Sorry, what?" Ryou grinned apologetically. "I'm afraid I'm just a little out of it today."  
  
"Yug' and I are gonna go duel after school. So hows about it? You wanna come with?" Joey asked, clapping Ryou on the back.  
  
Ryou blinked, and then nodded. "Sure, that sounds like fun. But I'll have to stop at home first; I don't have my deck with me right now."  
  
Yugi and Joey nodded, and went back to talking about dueling strategies while Ryou went back to thinking. 'I wonder if they'd buy it if I say I dropped a pan on my fingers.' But would that explain why he had bruises on both hands? 'Heh,' Ryou thought, 'I dropped a pan on one hand and, ummm, since it took me by surprise, it fell on my other hand. Yes, that will work for now.'  
  
And he joined Yugi and Joey in their discussion over Dueling strategies. Dueling was a big thing now; tons of younger kids got the decks and would play the game during recess and after school. Some older kids, like Yugi, Joey, and himself, also got cards, but they played the game a lot more seriously.  
  
Actually, as seriously as they played the game, there was another person more serious then them about it. His name was Seto Kaiba, and, Ryou thought bitterly, he was the richest person that there ever was. Seto Kaiba used a lot of his money to run a dueling shop/ place to duel called Kaiba Land, and that was where anyone who was serious about the game would go play.  
  
In fact, Ryou was so excited about dueling after school that he almost forgot his hands were hurting. At least, until lunch rolled around. He sat down with Yugi (Triston, Tea and Joey were eating off campus) and they both unpacked their lunches. Ryou was just about to bite into his sandwich when Yugi kind of gasped.  
  
"Ryou, what happened to your hands?" Yugi asked, noticing that they were all bruised. "Are you ok? Do you need to go to the nurse or maybe home? I can explain to the teachers if you want."  
  
Ryou shook his head, smiling slightly to lighten the mood. Now that Yugi mentioned his hands, they had started to hurt again. "No, it's ok. Would you believe it? When I went to make breakfast this morning I dropped a pan I was washing on my hand and it slipped on my other hand." 'I don't want to say anything about the dream because I'm sure he won't believe me.'  
  
"Oh, do you need ice or something? You should have told me, Ryou, that must have hurt a lot," Yugi said worriedly.  
  
"Don't worry," Ryou said, smiling again, "I put ice on them and they don't hurt at all anymore." 'At least, they don't hurt that MUCH,' he added to himself.  
  
"Are you sure?" Yugi asked uncertainly, and Ryou nodded.  
  
"Sorry to worry you, Yugi," He added, and Yugi shook his head, meaning 'it's ok, as long as you're ok.'  
  
No one bothered him about his hands for the rest of the afternoon, and Ryou suspected that Yugi had talked to Joey and Tea and Triston about it, so he was quite glad. After school, he waved to Yugi and Joey, calling, "Hey, I'll be over as soon as I get my cards."  
  
They nodded, and Joey said, "Yeah, we'll meet ya there! Don't hurry, though, cause I don't want ya to watch Yugi beat me again!" He grinned and Yugi smiled at him. Ryou ran off in the direction of his house.  
  
He hurried, because he wanted a chance to duel Yugi and he was excited. He had been practicing, so he was pretty sure he could beat Yugi, or at least come pretty close to it.  
  
However, the instant he walked through the door to his house, he blacked out, and the last thing Ryou remembered was that he seemed to be falling forever.  
  
-=-=-=-=-=-  
  
He was still curled up in a ball, and his energy was not coming back. 'Why can't I just die?' he wondered. 


	2. Part 2 Fire

Notes: Yes, the beginning and the end of that chapter was Ryou's dream, but you don't know who's in the dream . . . How perfectly evil, no? Thank you all for your reviews.  
  
Warning: 'blah' = thinking. blah = someone talking to another through thoughts. Parts may be confusing. It helps to think of it this way. Since at the beginning of the chapter Ryou is unconscious, the scene's either about Yugi and Joey, or it's the dream. Ok, either that helped, or I've confused you guys more. Review and I shall be eternally happy.  
  
  
  
Sleeping Demons and Crying Angels - Fire  
  
  
  
"And to finish my turn, I play Panther Warrior, in attack mode," Joey said triumphantly, placing down the card.  
  
"Good move Joey, but I'm afraid your Panther Warrior is no match for my . . . Dark Magician! Go, Dark Magic ATAAAAAAACK!" Yugi cried out, sparkly bubbles appearing.  
  
"Oh no," Joey said, "Your Dark Magicians attack points are 2500 and my panther warrior is only 2000!"  
  
Yugi grinned, "Which means that your life points get attacked for 500 points of damage making me the winner!" He jumped up and down in happiness, even more sparkly bubbles appearing. Suddenly he paused, "Hey, shouldn't Ryou be here by now? His house isn't that far away from here, I don't think."  
  
"Yah, I think you're right," Joey said, as they put their decks away and moved over to the side so they could talk easier. "He said he'd be right over, but he isn't over yet."  
  
Yugi paced back and forth a little. "Come to think of it, his hands were all bruised up today. He said he dropped a pan on them, but I don't think he was telling the truth now! C'mon Joey, we have to go see what's up with him."  
  
That being said, the two of them grabbed their coats and started running to Ryou's house as fast as they could.  
  
-=-=-=-=-=-  
  
'No wonder it's so cold . . .' he thought, noticing for the first time that his clothes were all ripped and torn. What had once been a pair of pants and a short sleeved shirt were now merely torn rags, not even fit to be called rags. He curled up even tighter, knowing that there was nothing to save him from this cold and the pain. 'Save me . . . anyone. . .'  
  
So you don't like the cold, do you?  
  
He flinched at the sound of the voice, which went directly into his head, and seemed to bore into him like it was being hammered in. He didn't bother to think anything. Just . . . 'I want to die. . .'  
  
You can't die. Never.  
  
The sound of laughter accompanied that voice this time, and suddenly there was a flash of light. He could see another person now, standing over him. 'Go away,' he thought, 'Just leave me alone.'  
  
The person grinned maliciously, and replied, "Even if I left you for the dead, you would never die. You see, you can't die. Ever."  
  
"That . . . can't be . . . true," he whispered back. It took all of his strength just to say that, but he still didn't pass out or anything.  
  
"See, you prove it yourself. Any NORMAL person would be DEAD by now," the person standing over him taunted. "You'll want to forget, but you'll always remember." The person pulled out a thin, but long, knife. "No matter how much pain I inflict on your body, no matter how much you suffer, you'll never die until you're awake."  
  
And stabbed him with the knife.  
  
-=-=-=-=-=-  
  
"Ryou! Ryou! Are you in there?" Joey called out, peering inside the house. The door was open, so Ryou must have made it home, but no lights were on. Did he go upstairs?  
  
"Joey, be careful!" Yugi suddenly said as Joey was about to go inside the house. Joey looked down and saw that he had just been about to step on Ryou's body.  
  
For a moment they both stared in shock at Ryou who was lying on the ground, face down, and twitching madly. His breath was coming out in short gasps, and every so often he would cry. And then, to their absolute horror, he suddenly just quite simply started to bleed.  
  
"That's not right," Joey said, eyes wide, "There's something wrong with him! Yug, can you tell what's wrong?"  
  
Yugi shook his head, but he dropped to his knees and flipped Ryou over, shaking him to wake him up. "Get some cold water and put it in a cup," He instructed Joey, "And get some bandaids, or gauze, or anything to put on this wound." Joey nodded and he went inside. Yugi pulled Ryou's body out of the doorway and closed the door, and turned on a light so he could see the full extent of the wound.  
  
It was hard to pinpoint the exact location; Ryou seemed to be bleeding from several spots. Hastily unbuttoning Ryou's shirt and then pulling it off, Yugi gasped. Up and down Ryou's left side, from shoulder to just about his hips, was a series of deep gashes. They looked totally random, yet were in a straight line, and each gash seemed to be perfectly measured.  
  
Blood was pouring freely, and Joey hadn't came back yet, so Yugi took Ryou's shirt, and pressed it to his chest, hoping to stop the bleeding a little. "Wake up, Ryou, wake up!" he cried. "Oh, you're so cold . . . I can hardly feel your pulse . . ." he said, getting worried. "But it's pretty warm out . . . there's no way you can be that cold . . ."  
  
Suddenly, Ryou blinked and looked up at Yugi. "Hello," he said, blinking at Yugi, "What are you - ouch!" He glanced down and his eyes widened in horror as he saw he cuts on his body. "What happened? One minute I was getting my cards, the next minute I'm all cut up!"  
  
Joey had arrived now with the bandaids and water, so Yugi got to work on bandaging up Ryou's wounds. "You didn't show up, so Joey and I came over to see if anything was wrong," Yugi said, cleaning them with the water. "Oh, these gashes are so deep! How in the world could this have happened?"  
  
"I don't know," Ryou muttered, his eyes watering with pain, "But it really hurts a lot . . ." He started coughing, and Yugi, who had wrapped up the last wound, brought him to the couch. There wasn't much he could do to stop the coughing, and suddenly Ryou passed out again.  
  
-=-=-=-=-=-  
  
"Do you see what I mean?" The person laughed, "You can't die." He forced the other to stand up.  
  
"I can't . . . stand . . ." he said, wincing in pain. His lungs felt like they were on fire. Surely he would die of blood loss soon, right? His eyes flashed violently and rolled into the back of his head, but he didn't pass out.  
  
'Yes. You can. Stupid boy." The first suddenly barked out, "You annoy me! You're weak, wishing you could die. Well, you know what? You CAN'T, so get used to it." He threw the knife on the ground and pulled out a long sword. It glinted in the light. "You annoy me." With that being said, he walked up to the other.  
  
Both of them stood, glaring at each other, although it was obvious that the second one, the one with the brown eyes, was very weak. Then, suddenly, the first darted forward and held the brown-eyed boy in what appeared to be a hug.  
  
They stood in a semblance of an embrace until the first whispered into the seconds' ear, "You annoy me."  
  
And he plunged the sword through his body.  
  
-=-=-=-=-=-  
  
Ryou awoke suddenly, crying out in pain. He wasn't able to talk now; there was too much blood in his mouth and he was becoming weak from lack of oxygen.  
  
"Ryou, what's wrong?" Yugi asked, eyes widening as Ryou pointed down at his body. Just to the left of the middle of his chest was a huge gaping wound, as if he had been run through. That wound hadn't been there when he bandaged the other wounds, Yugi knew that much. So where had it come from?  
  
"It . . . hurts . . ." Ryou whispered, trying in vain to stay awake. It just felt important to him to not fall unconscious, no matter what.  
  
"Hang on, Ryou," Yugi said, "We're going to get you to the hospital." Yugi turned to Joey who was standing next to them, "Joey, quickly, call for an ambulance. Now!"  
  
Joey didn't need to be told twice. He sprinted off into the kitchen, and within two minutes, came back to assure them an ambulance was on the way.  
  
"Ok, Ryou, just take deep breaths," Yugi said, "You're going to be alright and the doctors will figure out what's wrong. I'm sure everything will turn out fine." His hand felt wet and when he lifted it to look at it, he realized it was wet. With blood. Ryou was bleeding worse that he thought. "Just hang in there," he added, not knowing exactly what to say to the half- dead boy. He attempted to use his and Joey's jackets to stop the blood flow, but they just got soaked.  
  
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, but was only five minutes, the ambulance arrived. Their eyes widened at the sight of Ryou; it didn't take an idiot to realize that he was about ten minutes away from death.  
  
"Ok, let us handle this," one man said, while two others picked Ryou up swiftly but gently, placing him on a stretcher and bringing him outside. Yugi and Joey were allowed to ride in the ambulance, so they sat in the back, looking at Ryou. A doctor on board was peeling off Ryou's bandages and applying new ones, cleaning out the wounds, and setting him up with an oxygen mask.  
  
"It's going to be hard to say whether he will live or not," the doctor explained, taking a pulse and shaking his head, "He's lost immense amounts of blood and can barely breathe on his own. Do you two have any clue what happened?"  
  
Joey shook his head, explaining, "We were supposed to meet up after school and when he didn't show up, we went to his house to look for him, and we found him lying on the ground, all battered up."  
  
Yugi stayed silent. Would the doctor believe him if said that one of the wounds just simply APPEARED out of nowhere? He decided not to say anything yet; there was always a slight chance that he had missed it, even though that was a totally irrational thought.  
  
"Room A291 is open," one person was saying, "But he'll have to share."  
  
"He needs all the equipment."  
  
"He'll get most of it. The other patient is the special case."  
  
"Ok then."  
  
Joey and Yugi followed silently, worrying for their friend. Inside room A291 were two small beds and what seemed like a million different machines. The doctors wasted no time in hooking Ryou up to them, and Yugi took a look at the person in the other bed.  
  
The person in the other bed was a teenage boy, probably no older than 17. He had long white hair and tan skin. It was impossible to see what color his eyes were, since they were closed. He looked to be dead. Yugi frowned slightly and asked, "I don't mean to pry, but, umm, is he dead?"  
  
A doctor who was supervising the machines glanced over. "No, he's not dead. He's somewhere in between being asleep and being in a coma. He's been here for the past day and a half and hasn't woken up or anything. The doctors are going to work on him tonight. You might not want to stick around, no matter how much you're worried about your friend.  
  
Yugi thanked the doctor and turned back to Ryou. 'This just doesn't make any sense.' Suddenly it felt like someone had hit him with a sledgehammer, and he keeled forward, blacking out next to Ryou.  
  
-=-=-=-=-=-  
  
The brown eyed teen was back on the ground again, panting, and weeping as his life slid out of him slowly, but not leaving him fully. The person standing over him, with blonde hair and wild purple eyes was grinning, and licking blood off of his sword. "You just continue to annoy me, you know? Grow up, and get stronger, boy."  
  
"I'm not young . . . like I used to be," muttered the teen, rubbing his silver hair out of his eyes. "Go away. Let me die."  
  
"You CAN'T die, how many times do I need to tell you?"  
  
And now a third pair of eyes stood watching the scene, a pair of crimson eyes, narrowed. He ran forward, saying, "Stop it! He CAN die! You can kill his body and then only his soul will remain! Don't do this."  
  
"What do YOU care?"  
  
"Leave him alone. It isn't right."  
  
"You want to die too? Oh, wait, you can't either. You two are both immortal!" The blonde laughed and laughed, as if he thought this was the most amusing thing ever. "And, I too, am immortal, so you can't stop me from torturing you, and once I have gotten past your spirit, I can finally be free again."  
  
"What do you mean?" demanded the crimson eyed teen. "We're stuck here for eternity."  
  
"Not if our host awakens."  
  
"No . . . the hosts . . . they'll never wake up. Never."  
  
"Ahhh, but there you are wrong, I'm afraid." The blonde stabbed the silver haired teen on the ground for emphasis. "You see, once I'm done with him, I can release your hosts' soul, and then mine."  
  
"You'll end up killing yourself! It's impossible. We're doomed to stay here."  
  
"Not any longer. Already, our hosts move about, asleep, unaware. Once enough damage is done to them. . . . we will be free. . ." Insane laughed accompanied this.  
  
"Why are you doing this? Why are you trying to free us too, then?"  
  
"Well, my dear friend, don't you know? You are immortal until you enter your host. And then, I am free to kill you two for good. After what you did to me . . . I would kill you right now but I can't!" thundered the blonde, swiping his sword across the crimson eyed teen's chest, causing a deep gash.  
  
-=-=-=-=-=-  
  
"Yugi! Yugi! Wake up!" Joey was saying, shaking Yugi. Yugi blinked slowly, the world coming into focus. He was aware of dull pain across his chest, and he could already feel blood rushing out of the wound.  
  
"Are you alright?" a doctor asked, coming over to Yugi.  
  
Yugi's eyes were wide at the scene he had just witnessed in his dream. He blindly shook his head. "I'm fine," he whispered, standing up slowly, and hoping the blood wouldn't soak through. There would be no possible way to explain to the doctors how he suddenly got a large cut across his chest and to be frank, he didn't know either.  
  
"Yugi?" came a soft voice. Ryou was awake, but barely. "Yugi, I saw you . . ."  
  
"I saw you too," muttered Yugi. 'And the other person, I saw him too. But it didn't seem to be them, exactly. I'm so confused . . .'  
  
"Yugi, don't let me fall asleep," Ryou muttered sleepily.  
  
Yugi nodded weakly, and crawled onto the bed as well, starting to feel lightheaded from blood loss.  
  
"Yug! You're hurt! You should have told me!" Joey's worried voice came and Yugi looked up at him, blinking. It took him a moment to realize, and then he nodded briefly.  
  
"I guess when I . . . feel on the bed I opened up a cut that had . . . almost healed . . . but . . I'm sure I'll . . . be fine . . . " He looked over at Ryou, having nothing else to say.  
  
"I feel . . . better now," Ryou said.  
  
The doctors suddenly turned to the other bed. It appeared that the other patient had woken up as well.  
  
-=-=-=-=-=-  
  
Ryou and Yugi had to stay overnight at the hospital, so they would miss school, but Joey promised to explain to the teachers why they were absent. And then he had to go because his sister, Serenity would be waiting for him, and he didn't want her to think he was in trouble. However, the next day, both Yugi and Ryou were allowed to go before school was out, so they did, hoping they could run into Joey later.  
  
"I don't get it, do you Yugi?" Ryou asked for probably the 100th time.  
  
Yugi shrugged again. "Not a clue. I sure wish I knew." He sighed. "It was so surreal. I saw you on the ground, only you had brown eyes . . . and there was this other person in the hospital who was there too. The only beating you up."  
  
"Maybe this is all just a nightmarish nightmare?" Ryou suggested, joking, to lighten the mood. Yugi smiled.  
  
"Sadly enough," Yugi grinned, "I'm afraid I'm going to have to insist it's not a dream because I can feel that wound on my chest and it's real enough."  
  
"Yeah, same here," Ryou sighed. "Hey, is your grandfather expecting you? If not, we can stop by my house, get something to drink, go meet up with Joey and then go over to your house. What do you say? We can duel to take our minds off of this."  
  
"Works for me. I called my grandfather this morning," Yugi said. That being settled, they went to Ryou's house, and got some nice warm hot chocolate, even though it WAS spring. It tasted really good, though, and Ryou confided that he used a special ingredient.  
  
"Well, let's go catch up with Joey so he doesn't go bursting into the hospital wondering where we are," Yugi said as they sipped the last of their hot drinks.  
  
Ryou nodded and the two of them silently set out towards the school.  
  
They were being watched. 


	3. Part 3 Ice

Notes: I don't know what you guys think, but I SO prefer it when all I need to do in life is write. Unfortunately, I can't, and while it sucks, it's understandable. But it still sucks. Anyhow, I'm trying to make this chapter sad, but I'm not sure how it'll come out. Enjoy.  
  
Warnings: I am indeed overtired while I write this. Might not make sense. Please review.  
Sleeping Demons and Crying Angels - Ice  
He watched the two of them through his closed eyes; sensing them rather than actually watching them, and smirked. This was going to be all too easy.  
  
But lately, his life had just seemed so messed up. He had been seeing things that just couldn't be there, and dreaming things that just couldn't be real. He never woke up hurt from them; in his dreams, all he did was hurt other people.  
  
The only weird thing was, now he was having the weirdest thoughts, and doing the strangest things. He would get violent tendencies and they wouldn't go away until he had cut something, so he had resorted to cutting himself.  
  
But now . . . he was still watching the other two, who he was sure where in his dreams, but he didn't have a clue why. There was something foreboding about all of this, and he just couldn't put his finger on it.  
  
'Come to me, my body.' He didn't think it, but he heard it. He was seriously starting to believe there was another voice in his head. One that made him do weird things. He had woken up on a hospital bed, unaware of anything that had happened in the past few days.  
  
A sudden urge to kill the two he was watching came over him, and he struggled to not pull out his knife (which he had no clue when he started carrying that) and chuck it at them.  
  
Instead, he carefully took out the knife, and pulled up his sleeve on the long-sleeved violet t-shirt he was wearing. Scars, mostly pink, fresh scars, crisscrossed his skin. Choosing an area of relatively unscarred skin, he brought the knife down in a quick motion. It sliced through his skin faster than a knife cuts through butter. The flesh throbbed pink, and then red blood started rushing out.  
  
With every drop, he didn't realize he was becoming more and more of a pawn in a game he had no clue about, let alone control over.  
  
-=-=-=-=-=-  
  
Yugi grinned as he heard Joey's voice - Joey was talking to Triston. "Yeah, I gotta get to the hospital," Joey was saying.  
  
They could hear the eagerness in the others voice as he said, "Oh, to visit Serenity?" The underlying tone screaming out, 'Let me come! Let me come!'  
  
"Nah, I'm gonna visit Yug, and Ryou. They're both in there, got roughed up pretty badly," Joey said.  
  
"Oh, are they ok?" Triston asked, obviously worried about the two, but sounding mildly disappointed.  
  
"We're fine," Ryou assured them as he and Yugi jumped out of the bushes, totally surprising Joey and Triston, both of whom had expected to see them at the hospital.  
  
"You guys got outta the hospital?" Joey asked in amazement, "But you were cut up pretty badly!"  
  
"Cut up?" Triston asked, now sounding worried.  
  
Yugi gave a reassuring smile, "We're fine, really. Just a few small cuts." But even as he said that, he could feel his chest constrict in pain; the scab over his wound hadn't fully set yet, and it was painful to talk a lot, Yugi realized.  
  
"Yes, the nurses just told us we could go whenever we wanted to," Ryou added, "And we thought, well, we're fine, so no worries there. We left and got some hot chocolate and then, obviously, we came here in hopes of catching you before you went to the hospital."  
  
"Ahhhh, ok," Joey said, grinning. "You're sure you're alright then?"  
  
"Yup," Yugi and Ryou said at the same time, and smiled together.  
  
Ryou frowned thoughtfully, "Yeah, it was weird, but now I do feel a ton better, so I'm just going to put all of this behind me, and so, I have to ask you, Joey, to please pretend like this never happened, ok?"  
  
Joey shrugged, "Ok, but if you ever get like that again . . ." He grinned and patted Ryou on the back, carefully, as not to open the wounds. "Now, what was that about hot chocolate? Perhaps you have some for me and Tristan, eh?"  
  
Ryou laughed a little, and replied, "Sorry, Joey, I'm afraid Yugi and I had the last of it. Hey, I just remembered I had something to do at home, so I've gotta go now. I'll catch up to you guys later, ok?"  
  
Yugi, realizing that Ryou wanted some time alone, nodded, "Go ahead, Ryou. We'll probably be dueling again. Just be careful, ok?"  
  
"Of course!" Ryou assured them, waved and ran off.  
  
-=-=-=-=-=-  
  
Ryou got home without incident, and not once did he notice anyone watching him. Once inside, he sat down on a chair, and started breathing heavily. /I'm glad they didn't ask questions/ he thought to himself /Because I feel like I'm going to pass out soon and that wouldn't be good for me/  
  
//Or me either//  
  
Ryou blinked. He knew he wasn't feeling the greatest, but that didn't mean he should be hearing voices, right? Right?  
  
//Oh, sure, call me a voice//  
  
/Umm, who are you?/  
  
//Heh.//  
  
Ryou blinked again. What the heck was going on anway? He was feeling a bit stronger, and could almost stand again. It was as if this voice was giving him strength.  
  
//You're so naïve. I can't believe you're my host. Out of all the people in the world, you had to be my host. Well, it could have been worse. Or not// The voice seemed to get reflective // I still can't believe he betrayed me like that//  
  
/Betrayed you? What? Who?/ Ryou grimaced. This was quite confusing, and the fact that there was some random voice in his head didn't help.  
  
//You wouldn't know him. Stupid bastard betrayed me and tried to say I betrayed him. Goddamn bastard.//  
  
Ryou took a few steadying breaths, and then realized something. /I'm going to pass out again/  
  
//Don't you dare!// The voice screamed angrily at him. //Don't!//  
  
/ . . . sorry . . ./  
  
-=-=-=-=-=-  
  
//Stupid boy! Having to fall asleep!// "Dammit!" He spat, glaring at nothing.  
  
"Back again?" The spiky white haired teen pressed up against him.  
  
He glared. "Fuck off; you stupid bastard!" He scowled, "I fucking hate you."  
  
"No you don't," replied the teen, wrapping his arms tightly around the other, a somewhat sinister embrace. "Do you not remember?"  
  
"I don't want to remember! You betrayed me! We were partners, and then you betrayed me! Stabbed me!"  
  
"Don't you want to die?" Rough hands traveled down the others body, forcefully.  
  
"Not by your hands, Marik, never by your hands!"  
  
"Even if said hands do this . . ." Marik said sensually, undoing the others pants, and sticking his hands in. "You remember now, don't you, Bakura? Nothing you do will stop you from remembering."  
  
Bakura's eyes widened, and he gasped. "Stop it right now! I don't want this."  
  
"Oh, do you now?" Marik's violet eyes flashed dangerously, and he took one hand out of Bakura's pants to pull out a knife. "Say that again, will you?"  
  
Bakura glared, and said firmly, "Stop. It. Now."  
  
"You're dead." At the same time Marik forced Bakura to come in his pants, he slashed Bakura across the chest.  
  
Eyes wide open in a mix of pain and pleasure, Bakura screamed soundlessly.  
  
"And you love it, don't you?"  
  
Blackness swirled around him.  
  
"Only a matter of time . . ."  
  
-=-=-=-=-=-  
  
Ryou awoke with a start; his chest was hurting again, and his breathing was ragged. That dream . . . could it even be called a dream anymore? . . . was so vivid . . . and now the silver haired and blonde teens had names . . . Bakura . . . Marik . . .  
  
Realizing that his chest was bleeding again; the wound had opened up; Ryou dragged his body to the kitchen, cleaned it off, and did his best to bandage it. He collapsed into a chair, and groaned.  
  
In these visions, or whatever they were, a few things were becoming clearer. There were three people in them, always the same three people. . . one of them looked strangely like him, the other was blonde and the third almost looked like Yugi . . .  
  
It was obvious that Bakura and Marik hated each other, but used to like each other, and that Marik wanted to get out of his host body . . . whatever that meant.  
  
Ryou sighed deeply, and tried to keep the room from spinning.  
  
/Bakura?/ He thought quietly, wondering if he'd get a response or not.  
  
//You fell asleep//  
  
/I'm sorry . . . so where are you anyway?/  
  
//In your soul, more or less. Whenever you pass out like that, I get let out into a Shadow Realm, more or less. I can't die because right now I'm only a spirit, but in a bit of time, if your body gets any weaker, I can possess it and then I will be reborn//  
  
/That would involve my death, wouldn't it?/  
  
//Well, duh//  
  
Ryou shivered. This did not sound good for him. He sighed again, and wondered what to do now.  
  
//Mmmmm, blood// he faintly heard Bakura say. Ryou shivered again.  
  
/This is so screwed up . . . how come I've never heard you before?/  
  
Ryou could almost hear Bakura shrug. //You've probably never been aware. That, and until your sixteenth birthday, I was very weak. Sixteen is a very important number here//  
  
/That's . . . great . . . sure . . . is there any way I can think without having you hear?/  
  
//You'd have to put up a mental block, and in your present state, that's not gonna happen.//  
  
/Damn./  
  
Ryou closed his eyes in frustration.  
  
-=-=-=-=-=-  
  
When he opened his eyes again, it was morning, and Ryou blinked. "I must have slept in this chair all night!" he muttered aloud, looking around. The sun was just starting to shine through the window, so it must have been fairly early. He looked down at his chest; he had on no shirt, and his wound was staring right back at him. The blood had crusted over into a makeshift scab, and Ryou sighed.  
  
It would be interesting trying to clean that up. He glanced at his hands. At least THEY were almost healed.  
  
Breakfast took only ten minutes as Ryou heated up oatmeal and ate it with sugar and cinnamon. He got dressed in a school uniform quickly, scrubbing his wound as best as he could. With the white shirt on, however, you couldn't see it unless you looked right down his shirt, so he figured it would be OK.  
  
/I hope Yugi is ok./  
  
//God, not that fern headed pharaoh!//  
  
/Bakura! I thought you were sleeping . . . or whatever it is you do for most of the day! And what do you mean, pharaoh??/  
  
//Oh, that. Yugi holds the soul of a pharaoh. Long, boring story. I don't care much for it. The point is, I don't care.//  
  
/Gee, thanks./  
  
//Always willing to help// Bakura replied sarcastically.  
  
Ryou said and thought nothing, but went to school.  
  
"Hey, Ryou!" Yugi called, walking up behind him.  
  
"Hey Yugi," Ryou replied, turning around, "How are you?"  
  
Yugi looked at the ground a moment, "You mean . . . with . . . that and all?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"I'm . . . ok . . ."  
  
"It happened again, didn't it?"  
  
". . . yeah . . ."  
  
"Me too."  
  
There was a long pause of silence.  
  
"Let's go to class, ok?" Yugi finally said, "We can talk later, I guess."  
  
"Yeah," Ryou said, almost whispering.  
  
They made it to their classroom without incident, and then a familiar voice came behind them. "What are you to up to anyway?"  
  
Ryou and Yugi turned around. "Seto Kaiba," Ryou sighed. "What's it matter to you?"  
  
Kaiba gave a small laugh, and rolled his eyes. "You two are almost late. You two are almost NEVER late. So what's up?"  
  
Ryou blinked, "What does it matter to you?" he replied.  
  
Kaiba shrugged. "I just feel like knowing. Anyhow?"  
  
"It's nothing, really," Yugi said, "So leave us alone."  
  
He and Ryou turned to enter the classroom. They were almost in all the way, when Kaiba said something that made them both stop in their tracks. "I know more than you'd like to believe, Ryou. Trust me, and come over to the front of the school directly after last class, got it?"  
  
Ryou didn't turn around, but he demanded, "Kaiba, tell me what you mean by you know more than I'd like to believe."  
  
"Sorry, I can't say anything right now," Kaiba said, smirking. "If you dare to trust me, you'll meet me out front after school." The bell rang, and Yugi and Ryou silently entered the classroom and sat down before the teacher could yell at them.  
  
-=-=-=-=-=-  
  
/Bakura/ Ryou thought tentatively, trying to see how his link would work out at school.  
  
//What now?// Bakura's impatient voice came.  
  
/Do you know anything about Seto Kaiba?/  
  
//Who the hell is he?//  
  
/Ok, just wondering./ Ryou thought. And to himself he added aloud very quietly, "And that means he doesn't have anything to do with this. Right?"  
  
//Ryou?//  
  
/Hm?/  
  
//I need you to know one thing. If you ever see a blonde Egyptian with violet eyes, do not go near him. He's the enemy here, so stay away.//  
  
/Whatever/ Ryou tried to concentrate on the lesson the teacher was teaching, but Bakura continued to talk.  
  
//I need to clear some things up with you now. Listen, you might be my host body for now, but when I can, I'll take over your body and your soul will be lost. So start saying your good byes. Also, I. Hate. Marik.//  
  
/Of course/ Ryou shrugged it off, not wanting to bother with Bakura at the minute. He was too confused as it was. What he was confused about was, when would this person claiming to be part of his soul have a relationship with another part soul? It confused him just to think that, so he decided to concentrate on school. For once, it wasn't as confusing.  
  
-=-=-=-=-=-  
  
"I can't meet up with Kaiba," Yugi said quietly after school.  
  
"Why not?" asked Ryou.  
  
"I promised my grandfather I would help out in the game shop. No, it's not an excuse. Will you please go and tell me what he says?" Yugi asked, silently pleading for his friend to understand.  
  
"So you trust Kaiba then?"  
  
"I don't know who to trust. Be careful, Ryou."  
  
"I will."  
  
He walked up to Kaiba and nodded. "Hey."  
  
"Where's Yugi?" Kaiba said, looking down.  
  
"Couldn't make it. Now, what do you need to tell me?" Ryou asked, almost impatiently.  
  
Kaiba continued to look down, and then he sighed a little. "Come with me," he said, impatiently leading Ryou to his limo.  
  
"Where are you taking me?" Ryou asked immediately.  
  
"Don't worry yourself, I'm not going to kill you," Kaiba replied. In an odd way, this comforted Ryou, and he got into the limo.  
  
-=-=-=-=-=-  
  
"Now, I guess I should start from the beginning and tell you what I know, but only if you promise to do the same thing," Kaiba said after a period of silence. The only noise, really, was from the limo; the faint sound of tires going extremely fast.  
  
"Why do you care?" Ryou asked suddenly. "I mean, you've always been such a loner, and you've hated us as far as I know, so what's up with all of this?"  
  
"Well, it'll make sense once I explain," Kaiba finally replied. "Well, anyhow, I don't know how long the dreams have been happening to you, but . . . two days ago, a lady came to my mansion, demanding to talk to me. I let her in, and she told me of three boys who were going to have a huge clash over the fate of the world, and all that shit. The point is, she described three people, and I knew at once it was you and Yugi. So I told her I'd bring you two to talk to her today."  
  
"I'm going see some lady I don't even know?" Ryou said incredulously. "Great."  
  
"Her name is Isis," Kaiba said shortly. "And I don't know. She says she can help you understand what is happening to you."  
  
"Right, whatever," Ryou muttered.  
  
"Ok, we're here," Kaiba finally said.  
  
They got out of the limo and walked into Kaiba's large mansion. Ryou didn't bother to look around or anything; he just stared straight ahead. Kaiba brought him to a room where a tan lady with black hair and blue eyes sat. She was wearing a simple white dress.  
  
"Ryou Bakura and Seto Kaiba. Thank you for coming. Where is Yugi Moto?" Isis said. She had a lilting voice, and Ryou found himself sitting down with Kaiba in chairs around the room.  
  
"Yugi couldn't make it today, Isis," Kaiba said, "But I'm sure Ryou will tell him everything."  
  
"Alright then." Isis said.  
  
Isis turned to Ryou. "Ryou, as you might know, my name is Isis Ishtar." She smiled warmly at him, sort of like a mother to a child. "You've been having the dreams, haven't you?"  
  
"What do you mean?" Ryou replied instantly.  
  
Isis lowered her head, and smiled sadly. "I realize you are confused. What I might say may make you even more confused, but you must know this. A long time ago, there were three people of extreme power. One was good, one was evil, and the other was at first neutral, but then was swayed to the side of darkness."  
  
Ryou nodded, getting into the story a little.  
  
"Now, since the two that were evil were able to overpower the one that was good, an even more powerful person decided that they must be stopped. He sealed them all away, to be reborn in other people 5000 years later, in hopes that by then they would be able to live peacefully together. As it turned out, you, Yugi and a third, named Malik, were born with their souls."  
  
"You're kidding," Ryou muttered, but Isis gave him a look, and continued.  
  
"Now, you have activated their souls by turning 16, and they are able to think for themselves, act almost on their own, at times, to a degree. Whenever you get knocked out, they are released into a soul room and they become slightly more powerful. They can't die in this place, but any damage done to their body will occur to yours." She paused, and then said, "Ryou, could you please remove your shirt?"  
  
Ryou blinked, and then complied, realizing she wanted to see the injury he had. How she knew about it was anyone's guess, but he took off the white shirt. Isis's eyes widened a little, and Kaiba blinked.  
  
"Huh, it's deeper than I remember," Ryou muttered.  
  
"Oh my," Isis said, "I didn't realize it was this bad!" She looked right at Ryou, "If too much damage is done to your body, you are in grave danger. However, I can help you control this, with some special items."  
  
Ryou pulled his shirt back on, and shrugged. "I feel fine now . . ."  
  
"No, this will help you. It will put your other soul, your Yami soul, into it's own Shadow Realm when you fall unconscious. We must separate them." She handed Ryou a gold pendant, a ring with several points. "This is the Millennium ring. It will help you control Bakura."  
  
"Why is this so important anyway? Why aren't you all worried about Yugi and that Malik person?" Ryou demanded, looking at the ring.  
  
"Because. Malik right now is beyond hope, Yugi holds the soul of the good pharaoh, but you, Ryou, hold the soul of neutrality. We mustn't let him fall back into the dark!" Isis said passionately.  
  
Ryou blinked; the world seemed to be swirling around him. He looked at Kaiba, who was just tying to understand all of this too, and then Ryou looked at Isis.  
  
Her mouth opened, and she was saying something, but Ryou couldn't hear.  
  
For yet another time, he let the darkness claim him. 


	4. Part 4 Life, Cycle Of Three

Notes: Review and I will be eternally grateful. Thank you. I originally did not mean for this chapter to turn out the way it did, but, well, it did, and what can I do but go along and make it the best I can?  
  
Warnings: Dark. Pain. Death.  
Sleeping Demons and Crying Angels - Life, Cycle Of Three  
"Bakura! You've returned!" The blonde Egyptian was besides himself with fake joy. "I knew you would." He walked slowly up to Bakura, and grinned evilly.  
  
"Leave me alone," growled Bakura, glancing away. //Where is that blasted pharaoh?//  
  
/Bakura!/  
  
//What IS it, Ryou?//  
  
/I'm . . . I'm - BAKURA! I'M SORRY!/  
  
//Ryou, what's wrong? Ryou? RYOU?//  
  
"Oooh, is poor Bakura worried about his host body? What has happened to you, my dear lover?" Marik sneered at the pet name he gave to Bakura.  
  
Bakura growled, "What did you do to Ryou?"  
  
"Oh, nothing, really. But I've only just made it so that he will be stuck here much longer than before. In his world, nothing they do can awaken him! You'll be stuck in here with me until I've hurt you enough to bring you out! The end is near, Bakura, so near." And once again, Marik pressed himself up against Bakura. "Tell me, do you realize you miss me yet?"  
  
"Bastard. Get away from me, and get Ryou back to normal. I don't care."  
  
Marik backed away, angrily, "So you're with the PHAROAH now?"  
  
"I'm not with ANYONE," Bakura yelled back. "I'm BY MYSELF!"  
  
"No, you're NOT!" Marik screamed. "You can have ANYTHING you want, just stay with ME!"  
  
"Look at you two, screaming like kids. You two disgust me," Came a third voice.  
  
There stood Yami, looking proud and tall.  
  
Marik glared, "How can this be? I hurt both of you enough that neither of you should be able to move! What is wrong with you guys?"  
  
"Our hosts care for us!" Yami said defiantly, "And for their bodies. They want to protect us." He turned to Bakura and held out a hand. "Bakura, join with us ," He said, meaning Yugi and Yami, "And you can trust in us. Please."  
  
"I fight with no one."  
  
/Ba. . . ku . . . ra . . . help . . ./  
  
//Ryou? What is it?//  
  
/I . . . can't . . . breathe . . . itai . . . it hurts . . ./  
  
//What's wrong Ryou! Tell me!//  
  
/Trust . . . in . . .Yu . . gi, please!/ Bakura could almost feel the pain his hikari was going through. It felt like someone was holding his heart and squashing it into the smallest thing, and then piercing it. He shuddered involuntarily, and the pain was gone. /He . . . . . he . . . trust . . ./  
  
//Ryou! YOU HAVE TO TELL ME WHERE YOU ARE!//  
  
/So . . . rry . . . . . ./  
  
And then the hand was back, squeezing the life out of his body, twisting his insides, burning him from inside out . . . and then it was gone. Bakura blinked. His hand was turning transparent, like he himself was fading.  
  
"Bakura!" Yami gasped, "What happened?"  
  
Marik stared in awe. His mouth open in shock, he made no attempt to try to disguise his surprise by this all as he said, reverently, "It . . . worked!?  
  
-=-=-=-=-=-  
  
"No, Ryou!" Joey was sobbing. He was in the hospital again, with Yugi and Ryou, only they didn't know it, because they were both unconscious. Once again they were sharing a room with a blonde haired, tan skinned patient. "Oh, god, Ryou!"  
  
The doctor by Ryou's bed looked gravelly at the sleeping form, before reaching over and gently pushing up Ryou's eyelids. Ryou's eyes stared back, glassy and lifeless. ". . . . I'm sorry," he said softly. "There is nothing . . . we can do." He reached out again, and made close Ryou's eyes for the last time, but Joey reached out a hand.  
  
Silent tears streaming down his face, Joey turned to Ryou, and stared into his friend's eyes. 'Oh, god, Ryou, how did this all happen? When did it start, why did you hide it? Why didn't you let us help?' For a few long moments that seemed like an eternity, Joey stared into the lifeless brown eyes. Eyes that would no longer see. "Ryou!" He sobbed, finally unable to hold back his sorrow.  
  
"There was nothing we could do," the doctor said apologetically, "Internal bleeding suddenly started up in his legs and arms, clotting blood . . . nothing short of a miracle could have saved him."  
  
Joey rubbed the tears from his eyes, and glanced at Yugi for a moment. 'Thank god Yugi seems to just be unconscious, and not . . . not . . .dead . . .'  
  
"Patient 3423, Ryou Bakura. Date of death, May 27th, 4:23 pm," The doctor said to the nurse, confirming everything into a strange reality. The tears on Joey's face shone even more.  
  
"Joey!"  
  
Joey turned around, and saw a familiar face. "Serenity!" He chocked out from between tears and tried to brush his eyes out of his eyes. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in your room?"  
  
"The nurse told me you were here Joey, and I had to come see you." She ran up to her brother and hugged him. "I'm so sorry for you! The nurse told me!"  
  
"Serenity. . . thank you," Joey sighed, hugging her like a lifeline, "God, how cruel is that? Ryou . . . he never did ANYTHING to deserve death . . . and especially not a death like this . . ."  
  
"It's ok, Joey," Serenity whispered softly, trying to comfort her older brother, "He'll be safe."  
  
Joey couldn't bear to think otherwise.  
  
-=-=-=-=-=-  
  
"WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM?" Bakura yelled, trying to grab Marik and shake him. His transparent form passed through Marik.  
  
"I attacked him," laughed Marik, "I attacked him and he's dead now. He's bled to death. His body is worthless to you, but you can't stay here. Good bye, my friend."  
  
"No!" Yami yelled, "That can't be!"  
  
Marik smirked, "Ah, but it can."  
  
Bakura closed his eyes tightly. //Ryou . . . no matter where you are . . . I can feel you . . . faintly . . . where are you?// There was no response. Bakura could see a picture of the hospital clearly in his mind. A bed, with Ryou's body on it, lifeless. No trace of life in the still-open eyes.  
  
//Ryou . . . where are you? Where can you be?//  
  
/I can be . . . no where . . ./ Ryou's voice was scared, alone. /Bakura . . . I'm so sorry, I don't know . . . I don't know what to say, or do, or anything. Bakura, I'm DEAD./  
  
Bakura flinched at this, not noticeably, but he did nonetheless. //Your body is not fit for any soul right now, Ryou. Where are you?//  
  
/I don't know . . ./  
  
//Are you in . . . heaven? The afterlife?//  
  
/I don't know/ Bakura could hear sobs coming from his hikari, and it hurt him even more than any pain Marik could try to inflict on him.  
  
//Don't cry, hikari, it is ok.//  
  
/There are . . . lights everywhere, and it's so bright, but still so dark and alone . . . there's no one here, I can only hear you. . . ./  
  
Bakura opened his eyes slowly, and glanced at Yami. "Pharaoh."  
  
"Yes, Bakura?"  
  
"What happens when our host bodies are no longer available to us?"  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"Where has Ryou gone? Where has his soul gone?" Bakura yelled, loudly, frustrated.  
  
"My, my, all this over a simple human. You are SO amusing," Malik said.  
  
-=-=-=-=-=-  
  
"Well, who would have expected this?" Joey's head snapped up at the sound of Seto Kaiba's voice.  
  
"Kaiba!" He said in shock, "What are you doing here?"  
  
"Well, duh, Joey, I brought him here. I suppose you brought Yugi?"  
  
"Yes, but what does it matter? Ryou is dead."  
  
"Dead!? But he can't be!" came another new voice. Isis stepped into the room, and went immediately over to Ryou. "Oh, Ra, he IS dead."  
  
"What does this mean?" Kaiba asked quietly. Isis shook her head.  
  
"Does he," Isis pointed to Joey, "know about this?"  
  
Kaiba shook his head, and Isis quickly explained everything to Joey, who listened with Serenity in wide-eyed amazement.  
  
"Now, what I haven't explained is that there are seven of these items. Ryou had just received his pendant . . . which . . . Ra! I think . . . I think . . " Isis ran over to Ryou and pulled back the covers bringing the Millennium Ring to view. It was glowing brightly. "Ra . . . in this item is Ryou's soul."  
  
"Release it, then!" Joey said loudly, "Bring him back!"  
  
Isis shook her head, "That would be impossible, I'm afraid," she said, "But at least it clears a few things up. Ryou's body will continue to stay here, but his soul will too. It cannot be released and go onto rebirth. Without this ring, Ryou would be reborn, and Bakura would be destroyed."  
  
"You're kidding!" Joey said, unable to comprend everything.  
  
"No, I am not." Isis went over to Yugi, and placed another item around his neck. "This is the millennium puzzle. It belongs to Yugi now. I have with me the other five items, but I must give them . . ." She paused, and noticed for the first time who lay in the third bed. "Malik?" she whispered.  
  
"You know this guy? He's been passed out all this time," Joey said, trying to take a stab at normal conversation.  
  
"He is . . . my brother . . . and he is going to further complicate this . . ." Isis whispered, tears coming to her eyes, "It's starting all over again and I didn't do anything to prevent it!" She closed her eyes, and brought out another Millennium item, the millennium rod. "Malik . . . evil reborn . . . death to you . . . my brother . . ." She tapped him once with the rod, and it glowed brightly.  
  
"What does that mean?" Kaiba demanded.  
  
Isis sighed heavily. "Malik is the cause of your friend's demise."  
  
-=-=-=-=-=-  
  
"Without a body to go to, and with half your soul missing, what will become of you Bakura?" Marik sneered. "Do you still continue your pathetic cries of 'I work by myself', or do you realize I can help you?"  
  
"I don't need help," Bakura maintained, crossing his arms stubbornly. "Dammit, I don't need any help at all!"  
  
Yami ran over to Bakura, "Here, I think you should know this. I know where Ryou's soul is. It is trapped in an artifact of sorts, doomed to stay there for all eternity."  
  
"And why is that?" Bakura demanded.  
  
"Because his body is unable to host a soul, and even if it could, you'd be forced to possess it, since he has left. Even if that doesn't make any sense, it's the truth."  
  
Bakura fell to his knees, and muttered, "He's gone?"  
  
"He's still there, but that's about it. He'll stay there until his body is better, and then you'll possess his body and he'll be able to come here." Yami explained.  
  
Bakura closed his eyes and sighed heavily. "Ryou . . ." he whispered, "I don't know you . . . that much . . . and you seem weak at times . . . but you were there for me the few times . . . I don't blame you."  
  
/Thank you Yami. I . . . ummm, well, I hope you like my body when you get it./  
  
//Thank you hikari, I realize this must be hard on you.//  
  
/That's a little understating it/ Ryou's response came with a weak laugh and cry. The sound of it made Bakura, who didn't even flinch when he saw a person cut off their own head, weak in the knees.  
  
//I wish I could help you, hikari.//  
  
/I know. I wish I could help you./  
  
-=-=-=-=-=-  
  
"So then let's talk to this little bugger and get him to fess up!" Joey screamed, "I want answers!"  
  
Isis frowned, "I wish it were that easy. He is in a deep sleep and being controlled by his yami. There is, sadly, nothing we can do for him. He is destined to be evil, and Yugi is destined to be good. Ryou was . . . born in the middle and . . . it tore him apart. . ." She bowed her head.  
  
Yugi blinked and sat up. "Joey? Where am I?"  
  
Joey smiled at the sound of his friend, "Yugi! You're alive!"  
  
"Of course I am . . . why wouldn't I . . am I in the hospital again?" Yugi paled slightly.  
  
"Yeah . . ." Joey nervously shifted from foot to foot, trying to think of a way to break the news to Yugi. "And . . . Ryou came here too . . ." A lump was forming in his throat again, and he almost started crying again.  
  
"Kaiba? Who's the lady? Why are you two here? And what about the puzzle around my neck? It's interesting, but why?" Yugi asked, trying to put off asking about Ryou. He had a sick feeling in his stomach. He had heard Yami. Finally, he had to ask "How's Ryou? He should be alright, I know, he's really . . . he doesn't . . . he never . . ." Tears started falling out of Yugi's eyes. "He didn't deserve to die."  
  
"You know?" Joey asked, "How?"  
  
"I heard from my Yami . . . oh, I didn't want to . . . I wanted to think it was . . . anything . . . maybe I didn't hear right . . . I don't know . . Ryou. . . ." Yugi pushed back his covers, and silently walked over to Ryou's bed, and looked at his friend. Ryou's eyes stared back at him, unseeing eyes, glassy, lifeless.  
  
"Yugi?" Joey said tentatively. Yugi didn't move for another minute, and then he bowed his head and turned around.  
  
"Ryou . . . " He began to wish his friend a blessed rebirth, or afterlife, but Isis cut him off.  
  
"I'm sorry, but he won't be reborn, and he isn't going to the afterlife," she said, "I know this will be a lot to absorb, but . . ." And for the third time she summarized the story. Yugi listened, wide-eyed.  
  
"Then this millennium puzzle . . .?" he asked haltingly.  
  
"If you die, your soul will go there," Isis explained, "And that way . . . " She closed her eyes, "If both you and your yami should ever die you will be reunited in the item. That is why I give them to you. If that should ever happen, you will be reunited for the rest of time."  
  
Yugi drew a sharp breath, and then nodded. "And Ryou's the same way?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
Yugi nodded, before falling to his knees, and crying for the loss of his friend.  
  
-=-=-=-=-=-  
  
"Yami . . ." Bakura sighed, watching as Yami disappeared as Yugi woke up.  
  
"You're all alone," Marik smirked. "Evil preys on the weak, the alone, the friendless. The half dead." He paused, for emphasis, "On you."  
  
Bakura forced himself to stand up, and stand tall. "Marik, stop your advancement, I will never join any side."  
  
"You say this even though you have nothing to fight for, nothing worth living for, and you're hardly living at all," Marik said, counting the reasons off on his fingers, "You say this and expect me to be scared?"  
  
"Yes!" Bakura said, loudly, and tons more confidently than he felt, "Because . . ." He paused, and took a deep breath, before saying softly, "Because I'm not alone. You, Marik, are the alone one. Hated by everyone who knows you, and even the one who once loved you." Bakura paused again, and then said loudly, "You are nothing, and I refuse to cower before you!"  
  
"How dare you!" Marik yelled back, advancing closer, "How dare you claim I am alone when I have so much more than you will ever have. Anything I want or need I can get as soon as I take over my host body. Bakura, that is in less than a week. And then I, I will be so much . . . stronger than you can ever imagine. So don't you DARE say I'm alone!"  
  
Bakura calmly stood in place, and said carefully, "Every word you say is a lie. Every . . . every moment you breathe, you are still dead. And I am not alone! My hikari is by me, always! Where is your hikari, Marik, when you need him? Or should I just call him your puppet? Because that is all that he is, Marik. A puppet." It was Bakura's turn to smirk. "And puppets are easy to cut down, because all you need to do is sever the strings."  
  
"Bakura, I will make you regret that. You pathetic fool," Marik cried out and moved forward to attack.  
  
"I am NOT alone!" Bakura screamed loudly, refusing to back down. There was a bright flash of light, and suddenly a cloudy outline of Ryou stood in front of Bakura. The bright light faded slightly, forming a protective circle around the two of them.  
  
"You're right," Ryou said softly, "You're not alone. But look at us now. Both two halves of a whole, we're only half way here. I can not stay long. You have to fight him. My body will be ready for you tomorrow. Can you do this?"  
  
"Yes . . .I will," Bakura said, "And you, Ryou, are you going to be ok?"  
  
"I . . . will. . ." Ryou said, and then he leaned forward and embraced Bakura. "I have . . .to . . ."  
  
Bakura felt something wet on his skin and saw Ryou was crying. "No, you're not ok . . . Ryou. . . . you'll be in your own body soon enough . . . I promise. . ."  
  
Ryou sobbed silently, "Oh, Bakura, I know . . . but . . . I feel so alone when I can't feel you and there's never anyone around . . . I think I'm going insane . . . but I have to trust you . . ."  
  
"It's ok . . . Ryou . . .it's ok . . ." Bakura muttered softly, holding his hikari.  
  
"I know," Ryou said, smiling a sad smile. "I believe in you."  
  
The light faded, and then, slowly, Ryou did too.  
  
-=-=-=-=-=-  
  
Finally, Yugi stood up, smiled sadly, and sat down on the bed. "I never thought . . . his life would end like this . . . I can honestly say. . . I don't know anymore . . . "  
  
Isis walked over to Yugi and sat down next to him, surveying the room. Joey sat on the end of Ryou's bed, Kaiba and Serenity were sitting in the chairs, and Malik was sleeping peacefully. "Yugi," she said, not looking at him, but looking instead at the wall, "You're going to experience things that no one should ever see, especially at your age. You and Ryou and Malik have all be chosen, and there's nothing you can do otherwise."  
  
Yugi bowed his head. "I know."  
  
"I suppose there is nothing else to say, at least, nothing that should be said . . . however," Isis paused, "Your fate is set. Ryou was going to die like that. Don't lose faith. In a days time, Ryou's body will be fine again, and Bakura will come to stay in it. Do not be afraid. You must help Bakura, with Ryou, and make sure he doesn't fall to the dark." Isis glanced at Joey and Serenity, "You two, could I ask you to leave for just a few minutes?"  
  
Joey reluctantly nodded, and he and Serenity walked out of the room.  
  
Isis turned to Yugi and looked at him gravely. "What I am going to say . . . must never be repeated . . . "  
  
Yugi nodded dumbly.  
  
Turning now to face Kaiba, Isis said, "Kaiba, you will play a part in their fate as well . . . you . . . are the one . . . who controls their fate."  
  
Kaiba raised an eyebrow. "How do you figure?"  
  
Isis smiled. "Kaiba, you are the reincarnation of the one who sealed the three souls away in the first place. You have no yami, but you will control the millennium ankh." She handed it over to him.  
  
Kaiba accepted it, without comment. He didn't seem too surprised at what he had been told, but mostly because he didn't believe it. "Isis, I believe most of your stories, where most people would scoff I believe, but I cannot believe this."  
  
"I didn't think so. That is ok. You don't have to do anything yet. But there will come a time when you will need to do something. And Kaiba, I hope at that time, you are ready." She stood up abruptly. "I'll be back later. Rest, Yugi. Do not mourn the death of your friend yet, you need your energy now." Isis gracefully walked out, and Joey and Serenity came back in.  
  
"What did she say?" Joey demanded, "You two look like you've seen a ghost!"  
  
"Sorry, Joey, she made me promise not to say. I'm sure she'll tell you too, though," Yugi said.  
  
Kaiba snorted. "I want to have no more to do with you guys. I'm going." He left, too, and there was silence for a long moment.  
  
"Yugi, are you going to be ok?" Joey asked finally.  
  
"Yeah, but I don't want to leave Ryou here."  
  
"I don't think we can take his body, though."  
  
"We have to ask."  
  
Twenty minutes later, Yugi and Joey walked out of the hospital with Ryou's body. The nurses were more than happy to give them the body and Yugi had a suspicion that Isis had something to do with it, making it so easy. They silently walked to Yugi's house and lay Ryou to rest on Yugi's bed.  
  
"I'll sleep on the floor, and you can get the couch," Yugi said, pulling out blankets.  
  
"No, you get the couch," Joey said, "You need it more."  
  
"But . . ." Yugi didn't have the energy to protest, however, and Joey helped him to the couch. "Thank you," He said, closing his eyes to go to sleep.  
  
Joey smiled slightly before lying down and trying his hardest to go to sleep and get some rest.  
  
-=-=-=-=-=-  
  
Flowers. Warmth. Happiness. You will never have these. You are no one. You are nothing. Half of a whole, there is no way you can do anything. You are pathetic. You are weak. I scorn you. I hope you realize every day how worthless you are.  
  
"No, I'm not," he muttered quietly, pleadingly, "Go away."  
  
Pathetic mortal. Idiot.  
  
"Go . . . away . . ." he closed his eyes and brought his knees to his chest, hugging himself tightly.  
  
I can't go away. I am you. Do you not see how pathetic you are? You are NOTHING.  
  
"You're not me!" He screamed loudly. The shout vibrated off the walls and then faded to nothing. Just like everything else in the room. "I'm so alone," he whispered softly, holding back tears, "And it hurts so much."  
  
Pathetic.  
  
"I need someone."  
  
Weak.  
  
"Anyone."  
  
Worthless.  
  
"To save me."  
  
You'll be destroyed.  
  
/Bakura, I need you now. It's only been a day, but I'm still scared and so alone/  
  
//Oh, Ryou, I'm sorry. I don't know . . . what to do . . .but I'm fading . . .//  
  
/You're probably going into my body now. Stay calm. I'll leave you alone. Talk to me when you're done./  
  
//Ryou, I want to talk to you. Make sure you're ok.//  
  
/Don't worry about it now, you just need to make sure you get into my body alright?/  
  
//o. . .ok . . .//  
  
He sat back in the small room and smiled.  
  
Then there was a flash of light, that grew huge, and then faded to a gentle glow. "What the . . ." Ryou blinked and looked into the center of the light. An angel stood there. At least, he thought it was an angel. The angel spoke, gently, softly, telling him everything would be alright; that everything was ready. All he needed to do was wait.  
  
Ryou relaxed, listening to the calming voice. Then there was a loud noise, like a gunshot, and his vision plunged into darkness.  
  
When he opened his eyes again, Ryou was more aware of his surroundings than ever before. A tan Egyptian stood near him. Ryou gasped. "Marik?!"  
  
"Bakura, is that you? Why did you jus-" Marik cut off abruptly. "You're not Bakura."  
  
"So you've noticed," Ryou muttered, "I'm Ryou. Get away from me."  
  
"Oh! I killed you, that's how I know you! Hello!" Marik smirked.  
  
"Get lost," Ryou said, but he didn't know what else to do.  
  
"No. Bakura's in your body now, you know. Which means that you've already lost your chance to get back. Which means once I destroy you, he'll come back here, and you will both cease to exist."  
  
"You lie."  
  
"Maybe I do, maybe I don't. Do you trust me?"  
  
Ryou shook his head. "Not in the least."  
  
Marik smirked. "You should. I'm a very trustworthy person. Evil, yes, and cunning, but trustworthy nonetheless."  
  
Ryou glared, and turned to walk off. He had no clue where he would go, but he just needed to get away from Marik. Something Isis told him went though his head - 'When you are asleep or unconscious, they are released to a soul room and become slightly more powerful'  
  
So where would that put him when Bakura woke up?  
  
And in Yugi's house, Ryou's body sat up, and blinked. Bakura was awake. 


	5. Part 5 Death

Her cell phone rang, and Isis picked it up. "Hello?"

"Isis, this is Kaiba. I just thought of something. When can you come over?"

"Is it urgent?" Isis continued to drive down the road, away from the hospital, but slowed down and started to turn into a parking lot, in case she needed to turn around.

There was a long pause on the line. Isis began to get worried. "Kaiba?" She asked. "Are you there? Kaiba!"

A shuffling sound, and then, "Kaiba's here," an innocent voice said, in a panic. "He's bleeding everywhere, and I don't know why! Kaiba!"

Click.

Isis narrowed her eyes, and pulled out of the lot. 'Damnit,' she thought to herself, 'I didn't expect everything to go this fast!'

-----

Thump, thump, thump. Bakura noisily descended down the stairs. "Man, it feels good to walk."

Joey and Yugi stood up and turned around, to see who was there.

"Ryou?" Yugi couldn't help but say.

"You know it's can't be," Joey said, "Ryou's dead."

Bakura stood there a moment, and came forward. "My name is Bakura." He looked directly at Yugi. "I believe I've met your yami."

Yugi nodded. Yes. This is what Isis said would happen, he had to deal with this.

"Yugi, you are in grave danger right now," Bakura said seriously. "Marik will do EVERYTHING in his power to kill you, using your yami's body."

"But, why? I just don't understand," Yugi sighed, sinking back down on the couch. Bakura came around, and sat down on a chair facing him.

"I thought Isis told you everything?" Bakura asked. Yugi nodded, his large eyes filled with sorrow.

"I just – can't believe one of my friends is dead, but his body is still moving, you know what I mean?" Yugi managed to say. "Is this what Yami will do to my body if I die?"

"Yes," Bakura said. "Hopefully, it won't get to that point."

Joey watched the exchange silently.

"Bakura," Yugi asked tentatively, "What are you going to do? Can you talk to Ryou? Can you tell him hi for me?"

"Yes, yes, he is for me what I was for him now," Bakura said, "As for me, I'm going to go find that little punk Marik is using – Malik, I think I heard his name to be – and beat the everlasting piss out of him." He rose up quickly, and headed for the door.

"Bakura!" Yugi said, jumping up.

Bakura stopped, and turned around. "What is it?"

"Be careful, please," Yugi said softly, "And know that you're always welcome at my house if you need anything. Ryou can tell you how to get there."

Pausing a moment longer, and looking at Yugi, Bakura nodded. Swiftly, he turned back around, and left.

-----

"Kaiba! Kaiba, please, wake up!" The small boy shook his brother desperately. "Oh, Kaiba! I don't know what to do!"

At that moment, a tall, dark haired lady burst into the room. "Where is Kaiba?" She demanded.

The little boy squeaked. "Who are you? Are you going to hurt my brother? Please, please, help him!"

"My name is Isis," she replied, quickly running to Kaiba, and pulling off his shirt to check for wounds, "And I am one of your brother's friends. I'm here to help him. You don't need to worry."

"Thank you, Isis," the boy replied, "He's the only friend I have."

Isis quickly surveyed Kaiba's body. There were no marks, cuts, scratches or bruises. What was wrong with him? Marik's influence couldn't be that strong yet.

Or could it?

-----

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

"Nurse, come here." The doctor watched over his special care patient, the one with blonde hair and tan skin.

"Yes, sir?" The nurse came quickly, anxiously awaiting the doctors orders.

"Tell me, what do you think is wrong with this boy?"

"What do you mean, sir? He's in a coma, isn't he?" The nurse was puzzled.

"No, something's not right. Look at this CAT scan. Have you EVER seen such activity from a normal coma?" The doctor indicated a few sections of the scan, and shook his head.

The nurse looked at it, and then at the patient. "I don't get it, to be honest."

The doctor shook his head again. "Neither do I."

-----

Joey turned to Yugi. "So, should we head back to your place?"

Yugi nodded. "I want to be there if Bakura does go there. I hope Ryou'll make him come stay for the night. I'm so worried about what's going to happen right now."

"You and me both, pal," Joey agreed.

They began to walk towards the Turtle game shop. Yugi sighed, and looked up at the sky. It was slightly cloudy, and the sun was covered. The gray patterns swirled around, growing angrily, and a few drops fell down.

'Rain,' Yugi thought to himself, 'I wouldn't mind it now, I need to be washed anyway.'

/Yugi/ Yami's voice came to him. /Don't think that you're responsible for Ryou's death/

/I know, Yami./ Yugi turned to look up at the sky. The clouds were swirling darker, and darker. Few drops became many. Everything around him; the birds, the squirrels, were silent.

/I just. . . /

Joey motioned for him to hurry up, and began jogging down the street. The turtle game shop was right there.

Yugi sighed, and slowly began to jog behind Joey.

---

"Please, can you tell me what's wrong with my brother?"

"To be honest, I'm not quite sure." Isis had taken Kaiba, and brought him to one of the many sofas in the large mansion. "Can you tell me what happened again?"

"Kaiba came home, and he was very excited. I asked him where he had been, and he told me a friend had died. I was afraid. It sounded like he was happy, but I know Kaiba is not like that!" Mokuba was very upset that his brother had been like that.

"I know he isn't," Isis agreed. "Go on. You said he was laughing?"

"Yes!" Mokuba shivered. "He was laughing and saying weird things that I didn't understand, and then suddenly, he passed out. He fell down. I was scared." Mokuba took a deep breath, and then continued. "I went to his side to see if he was ok, when he stood up again."

"He acted differently then, right?"

"Yes," Mokuba nodded. "He was like his real self. He got up, and looked at me, and asked what just happened. I told him, and he got really upset. He apologized to me, saying that he didn't mean to act like that, but I forgave him of course."

At that moment, Kaiba's body twitched again.

'Still no injuries,' Isis thought to herself. 'What is going on?'

-----

/Bakura/ Ryou though frantically. /Bakura, Bakura/

/Whoa, what's up/ Bakura was walking around town, going back to the hospital to get at Malik. The pounding rain did little to slow him down.

/Marik! He's chasing me, and I don't know what to do! I'm scared/

/Don't worry Ryou, be strong. Yami will come help you./

/Are you sure/

/Yes! Be strong/

/Bakura/

/Yes, Hikari/

/Why is Kaiba here/

-----

As Yugi and Joey jogged into the Turtle game shop, Yugi's grandfather was there to greet them.

"Hello, hello, how are you two? Towels, hot chocolate?" He asked.

"Yes, that would be nice," Joey said, thankful.

"Thank you, grandpa," Yugi agreed, and then blacked out.

-----

Ryou blinked several times as a dark form filled out in front of him. "Yug – Yami?"

Yami nodded, not turning to face Ryou. "Ryou, how are you doing?"

"I'm… well, not the greatest. I'm confused. I'm scared. Marik is chasing me. He knows if he kills my body again, neither of us can inhibit it, and we'll be gone, forever!" Ryou whimpered.

"I know. Don't worry." Yami said reassuringly. "Marik! Come out here!"

Slowly, the manical killer came out of the shadows, and stood in front of Yami. He held a long, jagged knife casually in his right hand, and put his left hand on his hip, figuring a small dagger sheathed at his side.

"Yes?"

"Where's Kaiba?" Yami demanded. "You should NEVER bring someone's soul here that doesn't belong! You're killing his body without even touching it."

"Scary, isn't it?" Marik grinned.

Kaiba stumbled out behind Marik, huge black bags under his eyes, his lips pale. "Help me," he moaned.

"Marik, send him back now." Yami's eyes flashed.

"No can do." Marik grinned again, and advanced forward. "So, little Ryou, come here to play."

Yami stood directly in front of Ryou, blocking him. "You have to get through me first."

"My pleasure," Marik said, licking his lips. In one fluid motion, he pulled out the dagger at his side, and flung it at Yami. It pierced straight through his heart, and went all the way through. Ryou ducked to avoid being hit by it as well.

"YAMI!" He cried out in surprise.

Yami swore violently. "Damn you! I get your plan now! You bastard!"

Malik's grin widened further, as he seemed to take a sick pleasure out of what was happening. "Always too late, my dear one."

Ryou suddenly saw a picture of Yugi on the ground in his grandpa's game store, coughing up blood.

"Not Yugi too!" He cried, and a horrible rage filled his mind. He picked up Marik's dagger, and advanced.

Authors notes: Seems like a good place to end for now, doesn't it? Well, geez. If anyone out there is still reading this, drop a review so I know? Thanks a ton! I hope to get the final two chapters out soon.


End file.
